Buruli Ulcer in Traveler from Suriname,South America,to the Netherlands

We report Buruli ulcer in a man in the Netherlands. Phenotyping of samples indicate the Buruli pathogen was acquired in Suriname and activated by trauma on return to the Netherlands. Awareness of this disease by clinicians in non–Buruli ulcer–endemic areas is critical for identification.     

Acute bone and joint infections in children: current concepts

Paediatric bone and joint infections can be associated with devastating consequences for the growing child. The diagnosis is challenging, requiring experienced clinical examination with adjunct diagnostic tests to aid the distinction between a multitude of differential diagnoses which includes transient synovitis, fracture, neoplasia, rheumatological conditions, blood disorders and infection. Emergent diagnosis is required to prevent consequences such as sepsis, chronic infection, angular deformity and disruption of longitudinal bone growth. The clinical presentation of bone and joint infections in children is varied and includes pain, erythema and swelling, fever, reduced range of movement and the inability to weight bear. Blood and tissue samples should be obtained, if possible, prior to commencing antimicrobial therapy in order to secure the best chance of identifying a causative organism and guide treatment. However, this should not delay treatment. Various imaging modalities can be helpful. Whilst there is some variation depending on the child's age, Staphylococcus aureus is the commonest causative organism in both septic arthritis and osteomyelitis. Septic arthritis and osteomyelitis in children should be treated jointly by paediatricians and orthopaedic surgeons, with input from the wider multi-disciplinary team. Trends towards reduced rates of surgical intervention and shorter antibiotic courses have been evident over recent decades. In this article we present a review of the continuously evolving concepts for the management of paediatric bone and joint infections.     

Open clinical trial of rifabutin and clarithromycin therapy in Crohn''s disease

BACKGROUND: Crohn's disease, an inflammatory bowel disease in humans, has a suspected aetiology of Mycobacterium avium subsp. Paratuberculosis. AIMS: To evaluate the role of rifabutin and clarithromycin anti-Mycobacterium avium subsp. Paratuberculosis treatment in Crohn's disease patients using an open clinical trial. METHODS:. A total of 36 patients with acute presentations of Crohn's disease, whose sera tested positive against p35 and p36 antigens (two recombinant proteins of Mycobacterium avium subsp. Paratuberculosis), were selected for treatment with rifabutin and macrolide antibiotic therapy Rifabutin and macrolide antibiotic therapy medications included 250 mg 1 po bid clarithromycin and 150 mg 1 po bid Ri-fabutin accompanied with a probiotic. Crohn's disease patients' response to rifabutin and macrolide antibiotic therapy was monitored over a period ranging from 4 to 17 months. RESULTS: Seven patients (19.4%) withdrew from the study since they were unable to tolerate medications. Of the remaining 29 patients, 21 (58.3%) reached a sustained state of improvement, traditionally defined as a decrease of 70 points between their entrance and exit Crohn's disease activity index scores together with the absence of the need of all other Crohn's medications, such as immunosuppressants and corticosteroids. Three Crohn's disease patients [8. 3%) noticed significant improvements, but required other Crohn's medications, concurrently with rifabutin and macrolide antibiotic therapy, to achieve and sustain improvement. Only 5 Crohn's disease patients (13.8%) were non-responders, noticing no marked improvement while on rifabutin and macrolide antibiotic therapy. CONCLUSION: The data add further evidence to support the role of rifabutin and macrolide antibiotic therapy in the treatment of Crohn's disease specifically in those patients with evidence of Mycobacterium avium subsp. Paratuberculosis infection. A large multi-centre clinical trial is needed to further explore these findings.     

Peripherally inserted central venous catheters for treatment of cystic fibrosis

Patients who have cystic fibrosis (CF) are frequently hospitalized for long-term intravenous (IV) treatment. We evaluated clinical effectiveness of the Drum-Cartridge Catheter (Abbott Laboratories) for such patients. The catheter is placed peripherally under local anesthesia via an antecubital vein into the superior vena cava or right atrium. Patients who were more than 10 years of age and who were hospitalized for IV antibiotic therapy and/or IV hyperalimentation were studied. All but 2 patients had CF. Using an aseptic technique the catheters were inserted into the basilic or cephalic vein. Chest radiographs were used to confirm the final location of the catheter. Catheters were used to administer IV antibiotics, hyperalimentation, and lipids. There were 38 catheterizations in 23 patients; several patients had repeated insertions at later admissions. The success rate of insertion was 86% with 31 of the 38 insertions initially located either in the superior vena cava or right atrium. Mean duration of catheterization was 15.4 days (range 5-49 days). No major complications such as sepsis, catheter or clot embolism, pneumothorax, vascular perforation, or hemorrhage occurred in the patients who had DF. Complications that required displacement of catheter into the axillary vein (1 patient), and cracked catheter hub (1 patient). This study shows that the Drum-Cartridge Catheter can be used easily for IV therapy of patients who have CF for a long duration, repeatedly, and with no major complications.     

Antibiotic strategy after the empiric phase in patients treated for a hematological malignancy

 Empiric broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy has become a generally accepted strategy in the treatment of febrile neutropenic patients. Particularly in patients with prolonged neutropenia, subsequent adaptation of such a regimen will be the rule rather than exception. Since there are no uniformly accepted guidelines for the modification of antibiotic therapy during the post-empiric phase, we assessed the impact of a set of rules that evolved during the first randomized trials. Evaluation of the clinician's compliance with these rules in 1951 febrile neutropenic episodes was the subject of the present analysis. Treatment was modified in 761 (39%) cases, and these changes were made according to the rules in 76%. For 75% of the alterations in treatment during the evening and night shifts, no reasonable explanation was established, while 93% of the modifications during the normal working hours were made for objective reasons. The empiric regimen was more frequently changed in patients with a clinical focus of infection at the onset of fever than in patients who showed fever as the only symptom of a possible infection. The perceived need for modification amounted to 69% in pulmonary infections, to 51% in skin and soft-tissue infections, to 44% in patients with abdominal complaints, and to 37% in upper respiratory tract infections. Glycopeptides constituted 22% of modifications, particularly in patients with a central venous catheter, and systemically active antifungals were administered in 16% of cases. Especially inexperienced clinicians tend to adjust antibiotic therapy, in spite of the fact that persistence of fever alone seldom reflects inadequate treatment when the clinical condition of the patient is stable or improving. On the other hand, the development of subsequent infectious events emphasizes that a genuine need for modification does frequently exist. Received: 4 December 1995 / Accepted: 7 December 1995     

全身应用不同抗生素辅助牙周基础治疗对侵袭性牙周炎疗效的Meta分析

目的    系统评价全身应用不同抗生素辅助牙周基础治疗对侵袭性牙周炎（aggressive periodontitis,AgP）的临床效果。方法    检索PubMed、Cochrane Library、Web of Science、中国知网、万方和维普等数据库,查找全身应用抗生素辅助治疗AgP临床疗效的随机对照试验（randomized controlled trial,RCT）。通过牙周探诊深度（probing depth,PD）和临床附着丧失（clinical attachment loss,CAL）的变化,评价牙周治疗的临床疗效;采用RevMan5.3和ADDIS v1.16.8软件,进行统计分析。结果    本研究共纳入21项RCT,705例患者。Meta分析结果显示：全身应用阿莫西林联合甲硝唑辅助治疗AgP相比于单纯牙周基础治疗的PD和CAL改善更多［ΔPD：MD = 0.49,95%CI（0.42,0.55）,P < 0.05;ΔCAL：MD = 0.46,95%CI（0.38,0.53）,P < 0.05］。网状Meta分析结果显示：全身应用不同抗生素辅助牙周基础治疗后3个月效果较佳的药物为阿莫西林联合甲硝唑、阿奇霉素和多西环素;治疗后6个月效果较佳的药物为克林霉素、阿莫西林联合甲硝唑和阿奇霉素。结论    现有研究证据表明,全身应用抗生素辅助牙周基础治疗的方式对AgP能够获得较好的临床疗效。